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Dodgers lineup hobbled by injury, slumping Yasiel Puig

With the chance of missing both Hanley Ramirez and Andre Ethier, the Los Angeles Dodgers could be missing two key figures in a lineup that is batting .184 in the series against the St. Louis Cardinals.

LOS ANGELES – At the same time rookie Yasiel Puig was sparking the Los Angeles Dodgers' turnaround with his spectacular June debut, shortstop Hanley Ramirez was batting .375 for the month after returning from a hamstring injury.

As the National League Championship Series is proving, the events were correlated.

The hype around Puig overshadowed Ramirez's impact on the Dodgers, which has become more apparent as the club has scored just two runs in 22 innings to drop into a 2-0 hole in the NLCS.

The St. Louis Cardinals have shut down the Dodgers offense by neutralizing their two most dynamic players, exploiting Puig's aggressiveness and mostly avoiding Ramirez, who sat out Game 2 with bruised ribs after getting hit by a pitch in the series opener.

Ramirez's availability for Monday's Game 3 at Dodger Stadium remains questionable. He said Sunday the pain in his rib cage has not gotten any better and affects his swing, but he's hopeful another day of rest will help him improve enough to play.

"I'm going to try 100 percent tomorrow to go, till the last minute,'' Ramirez said, "and I hope I can make it.''

If not, the Dodgers could be missing two key figures in a lineup that is batting .184 in the series, has gone 1-for-16 with runners in scoring position and will be facing Cardinals ace Adam Wainwright. Center fielder Andre Ethier is day-to-day with a lower-leg injury.

Ramirez's absence is more noticeable, though. He batted .345 in the regular season and ranked second on the team in home runs and RBI despite playing in only 86 games. He followed that with a .500 batting average and six extra-base hits in the four-game victory over the Atlanta Braves in the Division Series. Including the playoffs, L.A. is 58-33 with Ramirez in the lineup this year.

"He was just as big a part if not bigger than when Puig came up,'' outfielder Skip Schumaker said. "Hanley was playing shortstop and hitting third every single day. You can put Puig at the top of the order because they have to worry about Hanley and Gonzo (Adrian Gonzalez).

"We're a different ballclub with Hanley in the lineup. When you have him and Gonzo back-to-back, it's a scary 3-4 punch. It just changes everything when he's not in there.''

Even when he was, the Cardinals made sure he didn't beat them, walking him three times – twice intentionally – in Friday's 3-2 win in 13 innings.

With Ramirez out the next day, Puig was moved to the cleanup spot and had a forgettable game, striking out all four times up and leaving three runners in scoring position in a 1-0 Dodgers loss.

With the bases loaded and one out in the sixth inning, Puig fell behind 0-2 against Cardinals starter Michael Wacha, worked the count full, then struck out on an awkward swing chasing ball four.

When not swinging at pitches out of the strike zone, Puig was disputing home plate umpire Mark Carlson's calls.

"They have good pitchers and a good catcher,'' Puig said Saturday after his line for the series dropped to 0-for-10 with six strikeouts, "and they have dominated me.''

Tempering Puig's abundant aggressiveness has been a constant challenge for the Dodgers, who love his enthusiasm and confidence but are sometimes hurt by his exuberance.

That seems to be the case now, with the Cardinals confusing and frustrating him with a mix of fastballs and breaking balls – what Dodgers manager Don Mattingly called "yo-yoing him'' – as part of catcher Yadier Molina's clever game-calling.

Ramirez said he talked to Puig about not trying to carry the team by himself.

"I told him, but he's young,'' Ramirez said. "You just have to make a plan before you go to the plate. That's the difference between veteran guys and the young guys. But he's going to learn.''

Puig, whose relationship with the news media remains more cold than hot, declined to address reporters Sunday despite encouragement from Gonzalez to do so.

His one comment in Spanish was, "Puig went 0-for-4 with four strikeouts and did not want to talk to the press. He'll have a better day tomorrow.''

Game 6 -- Cardinals 9, Dodgers 0: Carlos Beltran, center, lets the champagne fly after the celebration moved to the clubhouse. In his 16th big league season, Beltran is heading to the World Series for the first time.
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Game 6 -- Cardinals 9, Dodgers 0: St. Louis broke the game open with a five-run fifth inning to go up 9-0. Matt Adams drove in the first run of the inning with an RBI double.
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Game 4 -- Cardinals 4, Dodgers 2: Cardinals left fielder Matt Holliday (7) is congratulated by second baseman Matt Carpenter (13) after hitting a two-run home run in the third inning.
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Game 1 -- Cardinals 3, Dodgers 2: Carlos Beltran did it all to give St. Louis a 1-0 series lead. After making the game's biggest defensive play, Beltran drove in the game-winning run in the bottom of the 13th inning.
Scott Rovak, USA TODAY Sports

Game 1 -- Cardinals 3, Dodgers 2: St. Louis catcher Yadier Molina, left, tags out Los Angeles runner Mark Ellis at the plate in the 10th inning. Ellis attempted to tag up and score on a flyout, but the double play ended the inning.
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Game 1 -- Cardinals 3, Dodgers 2: Molina celebrates the big out at the plate to end the top of the 10th inning. Cardinals right fielder Carlos Beltran threw a strike to nail Dodgers runner Mark Ellis at home.
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Game 1 -- Cardinals 3, Dodgers 2: St. Louis reliever Carlos Martinez was fired up after inducing an inning-ending double play to quash a Los Angeles threat in the top of the eighth.
Scott Rovak, USA TODAY Sports